


arrow to the knee

by vannral



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pining, Wedding Rings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 07:37:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5860000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vannral/pseuds/vannral
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lila is sure her Dad is going to propose Pietro. Clint needs to hide stuff better. Generally speaking, it's a mess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	arrow to the knee

Clint should've seen it coming. Seriously. Lila has always been very open with people, and Pietro is no exception.

Pietro enjoys visiting Clint's farm, and he's got a very obvious soft spot for all of Clint's children, and in turn, they, especially Lila, adore him. They talk, sometimes Lila asks Pietro to talk Sokovian, and with a kind grin, Pietro obeys, and basically Clint has no frigging clue what is going on in his own home anymore. (Well, he _does,_ and he feels like a pervert, because Pietro is kind of amazing, no matter an arrogant asshole with stupid puns, but yeah, Clint is way more than fond of him, and it's so not a good idea, even after this whole divorce, which has finally ended...)

But it still doesn't prepare him for one morning, when Pietro dashes into the kitchen, wearing a wide, satisfied smirk that should mean bad news for Clint. It usually does. 

     "You are going to marry me, huh, old man?" Pietro asks casually, and Clint chokes in his apple juice.

He gapes back, startled, and a hot flush spreads on his face. "I'm gonna  _w_ _hat?"_

     "Your daughter is very smart, so that probably comes from your wife."

     "I don't know what the hell you're talkin' about, Speedy", Clint grunts, uncomfortably, shifts under Pietro's clear, unflinching gaze.

     "Oh, are you sure? Because your daughter is convinced that you want to marry me", the Sokovian man continues in the same casual tone, but he's got that annoying cocky smirk in place.

Clint clenches his teeth. "And how the hell does she know that?"

     "Oh, I do not know. Something got to do with a box - much like this, yes?"

And to Clint's utter astonishment, Pietro pulls a small black velvet box from his pocket and throws it in the air.

     "That's not for you", Clint says through his teeth, his hammering hard against his bones, _because seriously,_ his luck can't suck  _this much_.

     "Are you sure?"

     "Yes", Clint manages to say. "That's Laura's."

Pietro's face tightens, and his shoulders tense. "Oh, I get it."

     "Pietro - "

     "No, no, I get it, no worry", the man says, and Clint has a horrible, sinking feeling that everything just went to _hell_  - Pietro's jaw is clenched, and he looks just like all those months before, in Sokovia, angry and bitter. "Here, you have this." He throws the box back at Clint and vanishes into blue-white blur, and Clint sighs. He's a complete _bastard._

 *

Surprisingly, Lila is the one, who corners Clint in the evening. Her small freckled face is angry, her sweet brown eyes blazing. "What did you do, Dad? Pietro doesn't wanna come out of his room!" she accuses, and Clint's heart turns to ice.

     "Honey - "

     "Did you say something mean to him? He wants to marry you!"

Clint sometimes wishes he could be more like Lila; clean and pure from all the world's expectations and burdens. He kneels in front of his scowling daughter.

     "Honey, we had a misunderstanding. You gave him Mom's ring box. It wasn't meant for him."

Lila's expression falls, and she looks absolutely heartbroken. "You don't wanna marry him?" she asks, crestfallen. "That's not fair, Dad, he loves you, I know it, and you don't wanna marry him?"

     "That's not what I'm sayin'. That's Mom's ring. The one I gave her, when I proposed her. She, uh - " Clint hesitates, wondering how much he should tell her, "but she gave it back."

     "When you got a divorce", Lila nods wisely.

     "Yeah, exactly. So, I can't give him Mom's ring, 'cause it ain't the same. Do you understand, Lila?"

The girl is quiet for a moment, then, she nods again. "Yeah. 'Cause you didn't pick a ring that suited him and you. It's just the ring that suited Mom and you."

_How am I this lucky? My daughter is a genius_. He ruffles her hair.

     "That's right."

     "But now he's mad, 'cause he doesn't know that?"

     "Yup."

     "You should apologize, Dad."

     "Definitely."

     "Do you love him?"

Clint grins and whispers: "Can you keep a secret, honey?" Lila nods again, giddy. "I do", he whispers, and Lila squeals. "I love him a lot."

     "You wanna marry him?"

     "If he wants me."

     " _Apologize_ , Dad."

     "Going."

     “And, um, I’m sorry…for taking the box.”

     “Yeah, we’ll still having a talk about that, Lila, I mean it. But now, I’m goin’.”

 *

Going up the stairs, Clint's nervous; he's trembling with tight nerves, and he feels like fear is choking him from the inside. After seconds of hesitation, he knocks on Pietro's door and says: "Hey, man - can I come in? I wanna talk."

The silence is ringing. Then - the door opens, and Pietro stands there, jaw clenched and shoulders drawn tight.

     "Uh, thanks"; Clint says awkwardly and Pietro lets him in. "So, uh - you left so soon that I didn't have time to explain."

     "It is pretty clear to me", Pietro snarks back, his accent thick and sharp. "You could have told me you were getting back together with your wife. I would have understood."

A cold, heavy feeling settles into Clint's stomach. "No, 'cause that's not what I was gonna tell you", he says and sits down. "I was gonna tell you that ring wasn't what you thought. Yeah, it was Laura's. It was the ring I used to propose her - and the very same she gave back, when we got a divorce." He hesitates again, stomach rolling. "I could never give you any ring that wasn't meant for you. It would feel wrong on you. 'Cause you deserve better than any used stuff."

  Nervous as hell, Clint looks up, and sees Pietro, who stares at him.

     "You were not going to give it back to Laura?" he asks, voice deep, and Clint shakes his head.

     "No, 'course not, we're divorced. I'm sure you remember; Stark's stupid party, which involved fireworks and then our sudden announcement?"

     "Well, I did not know that! You could have pined after her - "

     "But I wasn't. 'Cause I was so goddamn busy pining after a stupid speedster that even Lila was sick of my bullshit", Clint points out, a little annoyed, but then, he sees Pietro grin, that same insuffarable, stupid cocky grin that he adores and hates so much.

     "You pined after me?" Pietro asks and sounds so impossibly pleased.

     "Uh huh. It was awful. You were so nice to my kids and they love you, and then, you eat all ice cream. I don't even know."

In a flash, Pietro stands in front of him, tall and gorgeous, his gaze dark. "So you did not know how much you meant to me before that?" he asks, voice almost rough, husky, and Clint shivers.

     "No. I swear to God, I didn't. I didn't - I didn't believe you could ever want that with me", he breathes, a little choked.

     "Stupid old man", Pietro says gently. "How could I not? You are the only one who can keep up with me. You are very kind...and very annoying, and you give your everything for everyone you care about. You are so - so impossibly good. I did not believe people like you existed. But you...you treated us normally. You weren't afraid."

Clint snorts weakly. "When you know guys like Thor or Banner, you're a refreshing change."

     "I will take that as a compliment. But I would not tell that to Stark."

     "Yeah, well, he can throw a tantrum elsewhere. And can we not discuss about Stark? 's weird." Clint clears his throat, embarrassed. "So, uh - what do you think? I - didn't know what to do with the ring, I swear to God I'm not getting back together with Laura. Nope."

     "She was too smart for you, anyway."

     "Yeah, that's obvious, and secondly shut up, I thought we were having a romantic moment."

Pietro chuckles and brushes tenderly Clint's cheek with his thumb. "You are not so bad."

     "Geez, thanks, I'm thinkin' backpedaling now."

     "Sorry", Pietro says sheepishly, and there are only few inches between them. "But to answer your question...yes."

     "Yes?"

     "I want to try this. If you are willing", he adds, and yeah, Clint is a goner.

     "You sure?"

     "Yes. Can I kiss you?"

After a shaky nod, Pietro kisses him, all desperate and hungry and frantic; it's lovely and harsh, and so like Pietro, and Clint's in love, and he's not sorry; his fingers bury into Pietro's hair and pull him down - such a tall bastard, Clint hates those couple of inches, fuck 'em - and Pietro chuckles against his lips.

     "Shut up", Clint mumbles, and Pietro nips his lower lip. "C'mon, I - we don't gotta do this, if you don't wanna - "

     "I want make you scream", Pietro almost growls, and Clint's stomach quivers with anticipation and arousal. Pietro pulls back, ever so slightly, and he brushes Clint's jaw and cheek so gently. "Are you all right with that?"

     "Yeah, absolutely. I mean - are you?"

Pietro scoffs. "Oh, please. I was 'all right' with it months ago."

Clint's mouth goes dry. "Oh. Okay. Well, that solves it. Go ahead. I'm - uh, I'm yours?" he offers weakly, mentally cursing how incredibly cheesy that sounded, but Pietro's eyes darken.

     "Mine?" he repeats roughly.

     "Yeah. As long as you'll have me."

     "You're on."

Pietro crashes his lips against Clint's mouth in a fierce, scorching kiss that made Clint's toes _curl_. He presses a trail of burning kisses down Clint's throat, and Clint's eyes flutter shut. That feels so good, and it's Pietro - _Pietro Maximoff_ \- Clint gasps, when Pietro's teeth nip gently his throat.

     "A goddamn menace, you are", Clint mutters, his hand absent-mindedly petting the back of Pietro's neck.

     " _Your_ menace", corrects Pietro smugly and tugs Clint's shirt. "C'mon. Off."

     "Impatient, too. Dunno what I expected."

Pietro grins. "You know exactly what you expected."

     "Maybe."

He totally did.

**Author's Note:**

> This one is a bit older thing, thought to post it now. I watched AOU again tonight, and I'm full of Hawksilver feelings.  
> I hope you liked this!


End file.
